Obituaries : John P. Lester; Retired Civil Engineer

John Patterson Lester, a 13-year Thousand Oaks resident, died Wednesday, three weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He was 68.

Lester, who was born in Holly Springs, Miss., on Jan. 10, 1928, was a retired civil engineer and a former U.S. Marine who served two years in the Korean War.

After graduating from Texas A & M with a degree in civil engineering in 1956, Lester began working for Chevron, USA, in New Orleans, La.

Lester later moved his family to London, England, where he helped design the first concrete oil platform for the Ninian oil field project in the North Sea.

“He had a very exciting career,” said Susan Roper, one of Lester’s three children. “He was very warm and friendly. He had a real love of people.”

Lester was transferred to the West Coast in 1982 and moved to Thousand Oaks a year later. He retired six years ago, and enjoyed playing golf, traveling and building model planes and trains for his four grandchildren.

Lester was past president of Thousand Oaks Camp Gideons International and a deacon with the First Baptist Church in Thousand Oaks.

He is survived by his wife, GeorgeAnn Upchurch Lester; his daughters, Roper and Pamela Palmer; his son, John Lester Jr.; four grandchildren, five sisters and one brother.

Funeral services will be held today at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church, 1250 Erbes Road, Thousand Oaks.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary in Thousand Oaks.